Mark Grisanti

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Mark Grisanti
Member of the New York Senate
from the 60th district
In office
January 1, 2011 – December 31, 2014
Preceded by Antoine Thompson
Succeeded by Marc Panepinto
Personal details
Born Mark John Grisanti
(1964-10-21) October 21, 1964 (age 59)
Buffalo, New York, United States
Political party Democratic (before 2011)
Republican (2011-present)[1][2]
Spouse(s) Maria Grisanti
Children One daughter, one step son, one step daughter
Residence Buffalo, New York, United States
Alma mater Thomas M. Cooley Law School
Profession Lawyer, politician
Religion Roman Catholic
Website www.senatormarkgrisanti.com

Mark John Grisanti (born October 21, 1964) is an American lawyer and politician. He was appointed to the New York State Court of Claims in May 2015 and is currently serving as an Acting New York State Supreme Court justice.[3]

On January 3, 2011, he assumed office as the Republican[1][2] New York State Senator representing New York's 60th Senate District – which encompasses the areas of Buffalo, Tonawanda, Niagara Falls and Grand Island, New York – having won the seat during the state's 2010 elections held on November 2, 2010. He was reelected in 2012, but lost renomination in a primary in September 2014[4] and, by staying in the general election on a third-party line, Grisanti received a significant amount of votes from Democrats and Independents in the District, however, he came up just short and Democrat Marc Panepinto went on to win the seat with just over a third of the total votes cast, one of the lowest percentages of victory in a State Senate Race.[5]

Early life and education

Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found. Grisanti was born and raised in Buffalo, the youngest of six brothers and sisters.

He graduated from Sweet Home High School, located in Amherst, New York, and attended Canisius College, located in Buffalo, where he received his Bachelor of Arts degree in English. After finishing his undergraduate degree he received his Juris Doctor from the Thomas M. Cooley Law School, located in Lansing, Michigan. Throughout college he was a member of the Student Bar Association, received numerous certificates and book awards, and was a member of the Entertainment Committee for the Bar Association and the Italian Law Society.

Career

Lawyer

After graduating law school, Grisanti worked at his father’s law firm that his grandfather had founded in 1921. As a third-generation attorney, he has worked at his family’s practice for over eighteen years. Grisanti first became interested in running for State Senate when practicing law on the lower-west side of Buffalo.[6]

State Senate politician

2008 Democratic primary defeat

Grisanti was defeated in the 2008 Democratic primary for the 60th Senate District, losing heavily to Antoine Thompson, 72 to 28 percent;[7][8] Thompson went on to win the senate seat in the state's 2008 general election.[9]

2010 general-election victory as Republican

Grisanti stood for election to the State Senate seat again in the 2010 state senate elections. His 525-vote victory over incumbent Thompson, which was initially contested, was considered an upset.[10][11] Grisanti's victory helped the GOP obtain regain the Senate majority by a slender 32-30 margin.[12][13]

The 60th Senate District is the most Democratic-leaning of the all Republican-held Senate seats, with 104,000 registered Democrats and 22,000 registered Republicans.[10] Although Grisanti was a registered Democrat during the race, he received a waiver to run on the Republican line; after his victory, he agreed to caucus with Senate Republicans and switched his party registration to Republican.[1]

The contest between Grisanti and Thompson was marked by mailers attacking Grisanti for his criminal-defense work[14] and allegations that Thompson had improperly interceded in redirecting a state grant from the City of Niagara Falls to a private firm owned by a real-estate developer.[11]

The fallout from the grant allegations hurt Thompson and he received only 36 percent of the vote in Niagara Falls, bolstering Grisanti's 525-vote district-wide victory.[11]

State Senator

Grisanti has received significant support and visibility from Senate Republicans, who have been engaged in a "Protect Grisanti" effort to increase his electability in the lead-up to the state's 2012 elections.[10] Senate Republican leadership have included Grisanti in a number of highly visible initiatives to boost his press coverage and voter favorability.[10]

On February 11, 2012, Grisanti and his wife were reportedly attacked at a fundraising gala held at the Seneca Niagara Casino by a casino shareholder who accused the senator of hating the Seneca nation, which owns the casino.[15]

According to the Niagara Gazette, Grisanti had been in the lobby area at around 11:00 P.M. when he noticed two businessmen fighting. As he went over to calm them down, one of the businessmen accused him of hating the Seneca Indian tribe and punched him in the stomach and hit him in the back of the head. Two women who were with the businessmen knocked his wife to the ground and kicked her. The fight was broken up by security and police.[16] Grisanti suffered bruised ribs during the altercation,[17] while his wife, Maria, suffered a concussion and a possible broken nose.[18]

According to the New York Times, Sen. Grisanti's account of the events of February 11 was challenged by witnesses who claimed that the Senator was the aggressor.[19] Another report indicated that Sen. Grisanti was restrained by five security personnel,[20] and one eyewitness indicated that Sen. Grisanti used a racial slur;[20] however, police did not discover credible evidence of a racial utterance.[21] While Sen. Grisanti expressed an intention to press charges following the incident, no charges were ever filed, and the matter was closed.[22]

Same-sex marriage

During a March 4, 2011, concert in Buffalo, the singer-songwriter Lady Gaga asked her fans to email Grisanti and urge him to vote yes for same-sex marriage in the state senate. Grisanti's office received about 600 emails, both for and against same-sex marriage.[23]

During his 2010 Senate campaign, Grisanti declared himself to be "unalterably opposed" to same-sex marriage[24][25] and sought support from the National Organization for Marriage.[26] In a radio interview on March 8, 2011, Grisanti said:

Civil unions and all the proponents that go along with that, I have no problem with. I have a problem with the term marriage itself. To me, marriage is between a man and a woman. It's been a term, a term of ours for years that has been around for thousands of years. It's like calling a cat, a dog. I don't think that that needs to be changed.[27]

State Senator Thomas Duane called Grisanti's comments "sad and unfortunate".[27] On March 9, 2011, Grisanti said Duane was taking his words out of context, saying he was simply trying to say he views the definition of marriage as between a man and a woman:

So if he doesn't understand that concept of what I was trying to say, then I'm sorry for his misunderstanding of what I'm saying, but that's my opinion of what marriage is.[28]

On May 17, 2011, it was reported that Grisanti had publicly stated that he would vote "no" on same-sex marriage.[29]

On June 17, 2011, it was reported that he had changed his position on same-sex marriage to "undecided".[30]

On June 24, 2011, Grisanti voted in favor of the Marriage Equality Act, which allows gender-neutral marriages for both same- and opposite-sex couples in New York, saying that he had researched the issue and that "a man can be wiser today than yesterday, but there can be no respect for that man if he has failed to do his duty." Grisanti said this even though he was raised Catholic to believe marriage is between a man and woman.[31] "I cannot deny a person, a human being, a taxpayer, a worker, the people of my district and across this state, the State of New York, and those people who make this the great state that it is the same rights that I have with my wife," Grisanti said on the floor of the State Senate, prior to his vote.[32]

Sen. Grisanti's marriage vote cost him the Conservative Party line, which provided his margin of victory in 2010.[33] Both the Conservative Party and the National Organization for Marriage endorsed Democrat Charles Swanick to run against Sen. Grisanti in 2012.[34] New York Times columnist Bill Keller opined that Sen. Grisanti "should be the most endangered Republican in the Senate" in the 2012 elections.[35] However, Sen. Grisanti did receive significant financial support from New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg and other same-sex marriage supporters following his vote.[36][37]

In 2013, Grisanti was a signatory to an amicus curiae brief submitted to the Supreme Court in support of same-sex marriage during the Hollingsworth v. Perry case.[38]

2012 Republican Primary Race

Grisanti faced a challenge in the Republican Primary for the 60th district from attorney Kevin Stocker of Kenmore, NY. Grisanti won the primary with a 60 percent to 40 percent margin after a campaign in which "much of the bitterest politicking had revolved around Grisanti's controversial 2011 vote to support legalizing same-sex marriage in the state."[39] "We took the high road, because we don't care about the smut, we care about what is important for the residents of Western New York," Grisanti said.[39][40] Grisanti's primary campaign was more successful than the primary campaigns of the other two Senate Republicans who voted for same-sex marriage and ran for re-election;[41] Sen. Stephen Saland barely defeated his primary challenger,[42] while Sen. Roy McDonald was defeated by Kathy Marchione.[43]

2012 General Election

Sen. Grisanti's re-election bid was endorsed by former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani[44] and by the League of Conservation Voters.[45]

Governor Andrew Cuomo offered gushing praise for Grisanti, who he said showed "integrity and courage for being one of only four Republicans to back the governor's effort to pass a law allowing same-sex marriage."[46] Governor Cuomo appeared in an ad with Senator Grisanti titled "Independent," in which the Governor said, "Mark Grisanti, thank you for your leadership."[47]

New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg has also shown support for Mark Grisanti. Bloomberg was scheduled to host a fundraiser in his private Manhattan home for Grisanti on Monday, October 22, 2012.[48]

Grisanti won reelection in the 2012 State Senate race with 50% of the vote. The Democratic candidate, Michael L. Amodeo, came in second with 36% of the vote, while Conservative Party candidate Charles M. Swanick received 12% of the vote. A notable aspect of the race is the district was recently redrawn, leaving it with a roughly 35,000-person Democratic voter enrollment advantage.[49] The Conservative Party candidate was preferred by many Conservative and Republican voters, meaning Grisanti won with strong Democratic support.[citation needed] Grisanti also possessed a fundraising advantage in large part due to the support of gay rights donors after his vote in favor of same-sex marriage.[50]

Judge

Grisanti became a Justice of the New York State Supreme Court for the eighth district, in Erie County.[51] In New York State, Justices of the Supreme Court preside over the principal trial-level courts.

Personal life

Grisanti attends St. Rose Catholic Church, and resides in North Buffalo with his wife Maria, and three children, Ashlee, John, and Theresa.[6]


See also

References

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  3. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  4. ↑ http://www.buffalonews.com/city-region/elections/stocker-upsets-grisanti-in-gop-senate-primary-20140910
  5. ↑ http://wivb.com/2014/11/04/grisanti-fights-to-retain-60th-senate-district-seat/
  6. ↑ 6.0 6.1 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  7. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  8. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  9. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  10. ↑ 10.0 10.1 10.2 10.3 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  11. ↑ 11.0 11.1 11.2 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  12. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  13. ↑ [1] Archived February 8, 2012 at the Wayback Machine
  14. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  15. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  16. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.[dead link][dead link]
  17. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  18. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  19. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  20. ↑ 20.0 20.1 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  21. ↑ [2]
  22. ↑ [3]
  23. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  24. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  25. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  26. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  27. ↑ 27.0 27.1 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  28. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  29. ↑ Benjamin, Liz (May 17, 2011). "Grisanti Would Vote 'No' On Gay Marriage". Capital Tonight (via Your News Now). Retrieved June 26, 2011.
  30. ↑ Boose, Josh (June 17, 2011). "Grisanti Now 'Undecided' on Gay Marriage Bill". WGRZ. Retrieved June 26, 2011.
  31. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  32. ↑ (registration required) Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  33. ↑ [4] Archived February 29, 2012 at the Wayback Machine
  34. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  35. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  36. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  37. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  38. ↑ http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2013/02/28/the-pro-freedom-republicans-are-coming-131-sign-gay-marriage-brief.html
  39. ↑ 39.0 39.1 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  40. ↑ Buffalo News http://www.buffalonews.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20120914/CITYANDREGION/120919477/1109
  41. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  42. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  43. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  44. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  45. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  46. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  47. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  48. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  49. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  50. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  51. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.

External links

New York State Senate
Preceded by New York State Senate
60th District
2011–2014		 Succeeded by
Marc Panepinto
Preceded by Chairman of the Committee on Environmental Conservation
2011–2014		 Succeeded by
?
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